Is This The Most Powerful Health Strategy?

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This should startle you: About 80% of patients taking a placebo heal themselves with the power of the mind, (from Dr. Rankin’s book, Mind Over Medicine). 

Deep Belief

A placebo pill has nothing in it; it’s just inert powder, (often sugar). But the person taking it is told that it’s real medicine. And when they believe it, they often get well through the power of deep belief. It’s called the Placebo Effect, and stacks of books and studies have been written about it. 

Do you realize how powerful this information is? It means, “as you think, that’s what you become”. 

This means that there’s a relationship between believing you’ll get well, and actually getting well.

I often work with people who have had disappointments time and again when trying to take on new habits like exercise or eating differently. By the time they get to me, they’ve failed over and over again.

The opposite is true, as well.

A friend of mine who almost never gets sick was coughing one day. I asked what was going on. He scoffed and said, “Nothing! I don’t get sick”, and sure enough, the cough that was circulating through his whole office and afflicted people for days or weeks left him by that afternoon. 

Audacious Belief

There’s something about his audacity I really appreciate. It’s as if his body has no choice but to obey his will, which is “I Don’t Get Sick”.

What you believe about yourself – your ability to stick with a plan, your ability to lose weight, your tolerance for stress, your temper, and a thousand other things – is related to your results. 

Naysayers raise ridiculous scenarios trying to disprove the power of the mind, but it’s always silly. It’s as if they don’t want anyone to dare use their minds, their will, or their emotions to help stack the odds in favor of a good outcome.  (Those naysayers would make horrible coaches, wouldn’t they? Every great coach has a knack for getting his/her team to believe that they can win.)   Does Belief guarantee 100% success? Of course not. But it dramatically stacks the deck in your favor.  Worse, though, is not believing. Not believing almost always guarantees failure.    Does believing for good outcomes neutralize the need implement wise strategies? Obviously not. Belief, in fact, helps you do them day-in and day-out   This is so simple that you’ll need help to miss it.   The Placebo Effect demonstrates the unbelievable power our minds have to help us…. or hurt us.

“As a person thinks in their heart, so are they.” This ancient text was written long before science could measure it and test it. Some people need a clinical trial before they’re willing to try anything, so I’m glad that science has provided data to show the world how true that simple text is. 

If you don’t engage your mind and your emotions and tilt them towards the behaviors you need for outcomes you want, your chances of success are dramatically reduced. I’d suggest that success is nearly impossible without them. 

I’ve written more articles than I can count, and a lot of them are about why certain foods are good for you, or why you’ll want to avoid other foods. But everyone I’ve ever visited with who failed to reach their goals already knew those things. It wasn’t from ignorance that they went back to eating donuts every day. Nor were they lacking another blog post on “7 Reasons To Love Pomegranates”, (which, I think, I wrote about). Everyone already knows cigarettes aren’t worth it. Another article on “5 Reasons To Give Up Smoking” is powerless if you don’t actually believe you really can kick the habit permanently.

“In all your getting, get Understanding”, says another ancient Proverb. Understanding the role your mind plays in your success will change your entire life if you’re willing to accept it. 

Believe it.

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